Involvement of Law Enforcement

Officers in Bullying Prevention

With solid relationships forged in the school resource

officer (SRO) and Drug Abuse Resistance Education

(D.A.R.E.) programs, law enforcement officers are in a

unique position to help identify and eliminate

bullying behavior in schools—behavior 

that is seriously interfering with students’ ability to

receive a sound education. 

What is bullying?

Bullying among children is aggressive behavior that 

is intentional and that involves an imbalance of power

or strength. Typically, it is repeated over time. Bullying

can take many forms, such as hitting, punching (physical

bullying); teasing or name-calling (verbal bullying);

intimidation using gestures or social exclusion

(nonverbal bullying or emotional bullying); and sending

insulting messages by e-mail (cyberbullying). 

Why law enforcement officers should help

stop bullying 

• Law enforcement officers, like other adults, 

should be concerned about the effects of bullying

on children. Research indicates that bullying can

cause health, psychological, and educational

problems for children who are bullied. Children and

youth who are bullied are more likely than other

children to be depressed, lonely, and anxious; have

low self-esteem; be absent from school; feel unwell;

and think about suicide.

• Law enforcement officers also should try to prevent

bullying because research shows that bullying

others can be a sign of other serious antisocial and

violent behavior. Children and youth who

frequently bully their peers are more likely than

others to

• Get into frequent fights,

• Be injured in a fight,

• Vandalize property,

• Steal property,

• Drink alcohol,

• Smoke,

• Be truant from school,

• Drop out of school, and

• Carry a weapon.

• Children and youth who bully are also more likely

to report that they own guns for risky reasons, such

as to gain respect or frighten others (Cunningham

et al. 1998).

• In one study, boys who were identified as bullies in

middle school were four times as likely as their

non-bullying peers to have three or more criminal

convictions by age 24 (Olweus, 1993).

How can law enforcement officers

contribute to a successful bullying

prevention program in school? 

Changing bullying behavior in the schools requires a

coordinated approach. Law enforcement officers can

help stop the spread of fear and violence in our

schools by assisting in the implementation of a

comprehensive bullying prevention program. 

1. Enlist the support of school administrators.

A plan to implement a bullying prevention initiative

can be successful only with the support of the

highest authority in the school. Unfortunately, many

school administrators don’t believe that there is a

bullying problem in their school. 

• To convince them of the seriousness of bullying,

share with them research findings about the

nature, prevalence, and effects of bullying.

• Consider collecting your own data about bullying

at the school to share with your administrator and

fellow staff members. You may want to administer

an anonymous student questionnaire (grades three

and higher). A number of bullying prevention

programs include such questionnaires.

• Consider collecting and mapping incidents of

reported bullying at your school. Free computer

programs (e.g., www.schoolcopsoftware.com) are

available that may help you to analyze and map

incidents that occur in and around your schools. 

2. Select and implement a research-based bullying

prevention program.

Research existing bullying prevention programs 

that your school might adopt. 
These and other materials are available online at: www.stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov

References

Abt Associates (n.d.). School crime operations package (School COP). Retrieved August 12, 2005, from www.schoolcopsoftware.com.

Byrne, B. J. (1994). Bullies and victims in school settings with reference to some Dublin schools. Irish Journal of Psychology, 15, 574-586.

Craig, W. M. (1998). The relationship among bullying, victimization, depression, anxiety, and aggression in elementary school children.

Personality and Individual Differences, 24, 123-130.

Eron, L. D., Huesmann, L. R., Dubow, E., Romanoff, R, Yarmel, P. (1987). Aggression and its correlates over 22 Years. Childhood aggression and

violence: Sources of influence prevention and control. New York: Plenum.

Farrington, D.P. (1993). Understanding and preventing bullying. In M. Torny (Ed.), Crime and justice: A review of research, Vol. 17. Chicago:

University of Chicago Press.

Hodges, E. V. E., & Perry, D. G. (1996). Victims of peer abuse: An overview. Journal of Emotional and Behavioural Problems, 5, 23-28.

Melton, G. B.. Limber, S. Flerx, V. Cunningham, P., Osgood, D.W., Chambers, J., Henggler, S., & Nation, M. (1998). Violence among rural

youth. Final report to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

Nansel, T. R., Overpeck, M. D., Haynie, D. L., Ruan, W. J., & Scheidt, P. C. (2003). Relationships between bullying and violence among US youth.

Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine, 157, 348-353.

Nansel, T. R., Overpeck, M., Pilla, R. S., Ruan, J., Simons-Morton, B., & Scheidt, P. (2001). Bullying Behaviors Among US Youth: Prevalence and

Association With Psychosocial Adjustment. Journal of the American Medical Association, 285, 2094-2100.

Olweus, Dan. Bullying at School: What We Know and We Can Do. Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 1993. 

Olweus, D., Limber, S., & Mihalic, S. (1999). The Bullying Prevention Program. Blueprints for Violence Prevention. Boulder, CO: Center for the Study

and Prevention of Violence.

Rigby, K. (1996). Bullying in schools: And what to do about it. Bristol, PA: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Rigby, K. & Slee, P. T. (1993). Dimensions of interpersonal relations among Australian school children and their implications for psychological

well-being. Journal of Social Psychology, 133, 33-42.

U.S. Department of Education Office of Educational Research and Improvement. (2002). Are America’s schools safe? Students speak out.

1999 school crime supplement. Washington, DC: Author

Visit www.stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov for information

about such programs and tips about what to consider

in selecting effective programs.

Work with your administrator and other staff to select

a program that best fits the needs of your school,

while considering the proven effectiveness of the

model. Work actively with your colleagues to

implement the program with fidelity.

3. Be accessible to students and staff.

Get to know students by name and work to develop

trusting relationships with them. Encourage them 

to come to you with concerns about bullying or 

other issues.

4. Create an anonymous reporting system in your school.

Many students are bystanders to bullying, and many

do not take action against bullying that they see or

know about. Creating a system that promotes

anonymous reporting of bullying incidents gives

passive bystanders an opportunity to be active

bystanders. Consider providing a locked box for

anonymous reports of bullying. Locate the box in an

area of the school that is private but easily accessible.

Investigate the reports thoroughly and sensitively.

Alerting responsible adults about bullying incidents

and increasing supervision can significantly reduce

their frequency.

5. Institute passive surveillance.

In other words, be watchful. Observe from 

behind blinds of a window that overlooks the

playground or a stage curtain that overlooks the

lunchroom. Use information gathered from

anonymous reports to strategize where and when

you should increase supervision.

6. Work with other staff to create a safety plan for

children who are bullied.

Consider establishing a code phrase that could be

used by the child to alert a teacher or other adult to

bullying behavior without drawing undue attention

to the child who was bullied.

7. Suggest the implementation of behavior contracts as

a type of creative probation. 

If a bullying behavior constitutes a crime, visit with

your prosecuting attorney to see whether you can

develop an intervention plan for the child who

bullied. Consider the statute of limitations for

misdemeanor crime in your state and propose that

you be given some discretion in how these children

are charged when bullying incidents violate the law.

Ask the prosecutor to help you develop a behavior

contract and offer to monitor this child’s behavior for

the next few months at school. If successful, the child

who bullies can escape prosecution (much like a

diversion), and the court’s case log can be reduced. If

unsuccessful, the child who bullies would face this

charge in addition to any other charges as a result of

continued bullying behavior.